No fewer than 20 persons are feared dead in the renewed clash between the people of Oku Iboku in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State and Odukpani Local Government Area in Cross River State.

The people of Ikot Offiong, who are an Efik speaking tribe of Calabar, were said to have been dislodged from their settlement at Ayadehe community, Oku Iboku council, over the decades.

It was gathered that in the clash between the two communities which started Friday night, combatants from both communities used sophisticated weapons.

It was further gathered that the highest number of casualties was on the Ikot Offiong side, as they were allegedly ambushed in the attack and chased to a neighbouring community in Odukpani Local Government Area of the state.

It was learned that travellers along the major link road between the two states, the Calabar-Itu high way, were held hostage for hours on Saturday until soldiers arrived the scene and chased the hoodlums away and cleared the road for smooth movement of traffic.

An eyewitness bemoaned the actions of the people of Ikot Offiong and wondered why they should start another war after both communities had entered into a peaceful settlement since 2014.

The eyewitness who spoke to newsmen on grounds of anonymity, said that the recent attack which was the third in recent times, must have been sponsored, adding that both communities have no justifiable reason to kill each other because they inter-marry.

The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Cordelia Nwawe, confirmed the clash, but said the police was not in a position to speak on the casualty figure.